Eric Veneziano returns for his fourth contribution to the STAT BOX STORIES BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL, playing the 2011 Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl between the California Golden Bears and Texas Longhorns. If you would like to join in on this project as we try to get entries for every Bowl Game from this college football season, visit the forum game list at The Gaming Tailgate to see which games are still available to sign up for.

As we continue through the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL at STAT BOX STORIES, I got back on the field for the Holiday Bowl. Having not played since an overtime loss in the Poinsettia Bowl, I was anxious to see what I could do as I took control of Cal–as they have the slight rating disadvantage in NCAA Football 12–to face off against Texas.

It didn’t take long for Cal to set the tone for the game. After losing the coin toss and a quick 3 and out, my cornerback stepped in front of a pass for a quick turnover and to set up the Cal offense with great field position. Six plays later, my halfback powered into the endzone over the left guard from 3 yards out to take a 7-0 lead. The Golden Bears defense would continue their dominance from that point on shutting down the Texas offense for most of the game.

The Longhorns offensive strategy was a little strange as they abandoned the running game early on and relied heavily on their passing game. The Bears defense though stepped up and shut them and Cal took a 14-3 halftime lead.

Texas came out of the half and looked to stay in the game as they added a score on the opening drive of the 3rd. Cal quickly answered though as my halfback took the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown and a 14 point lead. Texas continued to fight and try to stay in the game but Cal always had an answer as they countered each of Texas’s scores with one of their own. The defense delivered a final blow to the Texas dreams of a comeback as my cornerback stepped in front of his 2nd pass of the day, this one in the endzone and returned it 105 yards for a touchdown. The offense was able to grind the running game and add two more scores to roll to a 55-23 Holiday Bowl victory.

The stars of the game were Cal’s offense which rolled for 181 rushing yards and 119 yards coming from HB #20. He also added 3 rushing TDs and a 97 yard kickoff return for a TD and player of the game. The nod could have also gone to CB #2 as he returned 1 of his 2 Interceptions for 105 yard touchdown.

After struggling to a 1-2 Bowl record so far, it was nice to get a solid victory. Hopefully the winning can continue!

Another user victory keeps the streak alive here at STAT BOX STORIES in the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL. Be sure to return to the site tomorrow for two more Bowl Game entries!

Guest Author Bio:

Eric Veneziano (PS3 ID: psuexv) is a long time gamer dating back to Double Dribble, NES Playaction Football and Baseball Stars and can actually go back to the Atari 2600 and Homerun and Super Challenge Football (love the unique names). He currently spends his time playing NCAA Football, Tiger Woods and NHL, having stepped away from Madden for awhile. He claims not to say many interesting things, but he is on Twitter at @psuexv.